@ZAPunter provides his betting tips for the Uefa Champions League clash between Shakhtar Donetsk and Dinamo Zagreb which takes place on Tuesday 22nd October
SHAKHTAR DONETSK VS DINAMO ZAGREB, TUESDAY @ 18:55
Shakhtar Donetsk host Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday evening with both sides looking to get their 2nd win in the Champions League group stages. Both sides have made identical starts in their group, with victories over Atalanta and defeats against Manchester City. Both teams will believe that they have the opportunity to qualify for the round of 16 after Atalanta’s terrible start, so the winner of this match will be in a great position. Both teams deployed different game plans in their first 2 matches, with Dinamo Zagreb playing on the front foot at home against Atalanta winning 4-0 and Shakhtar playing on the counter in their 2-1 away victory against the Italian side. Shakhtar tried challenging Manchester City formation wise, but suffered a 3-0 defeat at home. Zagreb went to Manchester and decided to “park the bus” for 90min, frustrating City for most of the game before conceding twice. Both teams will be confident in getting all 3 points on Tuesday.
SHAKHTAR DONETSK:
The Ukrainian giants recorded a 6-0 victory this weekend, taking their record to 11/11 in the league and scoring 36 goals in total. In both their champions league matches they showed their attacking flair with Moraes, Taison and Kovalenko all impressing. Saying that, they have also been exposed defensively, especially when the opposition has space in behind. From a statistical point of view, Shakhtar has conceded in their last 18 Champions League games and haven’t recorded a home victory in their last 4 matches. Their xGf – 1.01 and xGa – 2.77, when we look at those figures and have watched their games, they clearly should have conceded more goals, especially away to Atalanta. Shakhtar has a fully fit squad for their Champions League encounter. Santos rotated his squad on Friday night and rested a few key players and they still scored 6 unanswered goals.
DINAMO ZAGREB:
Zagreb too played on Friday evening, recording a 4-2 victory and remaining top of the Croatian league. Orsic scored a hat-trick this weekend and scored a hat-trick on matchday one against Atalanta. Manager Nenad Bjelica will try and get the ball to Orsic, Olmo and Petkovic as much as possible to trouble a leaky Shakhtar defence and hope that the pace of their wingers can cause problems for the Ukrainians. Zagreb played 5 at the back against City in the hope of keeping them out, but they will most likely go to a back 3 on Tuesday evening and try and play on the front foot with possession. Their xGf is 1.31 and xGa 2.76, according to the xG statistics they have over performed thus far or they have been clinical in front of goals and lucky at the back. Lovro Majer is the only absentee for Zagreb, but Bjelica is still unsure what formation his side will play.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS:
Shakhtar: 4-2-3-1
Pyatov,
Dodo, Bondar, Matviyenko, Cipriano,
Kovalenko, Stepanenko,
Marlos, Taison, Konoplyanka,
Moraes.
Zagreb: 4-3-3
Livakovic,
Theophile-Catherine, Dilaver, Peric, Hajrovic,
Moro, Ademi, Leovic,
Orsic, Petkovic, Olmo.
PREDICTION:
Both teams will know that 3 points here and the Round of 16 is very close. The strengths of both these teams are their attacking players and their weaknesses are in defence. I don’t expect this game to be any different on Tuesday evening. The market is still undecided on the total and I’m sure we will see a drop in the over price. I’m rather backing both teams to score here at a great price. I expect we see a very entertaining game with a lot of chances on both sides. Early kick-off winner please!
BETTING:
Both Teams To Score – 1.81 @ BetOlimp
Champions League Record: 3-1
Champions League BEST BET Record: 1-0
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change
@ZAPunter
